'Marty tells me the audit is progressing,' I said to Adele.
'Yes. He seems like such a smart guy.'
'He said you've been very valuable.'
'Good,' she said. 'I'm glad. He's awfully nice.'
'In a sort of sharkish kind of way,' I said.
'Sharkish?'
'Exaggeration for effect,' I said.
V innie sampled the second bottle of bordeaux and nodded and the waiter poured some for each of us.
'Now that the whistle has been blown,' I said to Adele, 'and the audit's under way, there really isn't any danger to you anymore.'
'Oh, no, I still want to stay at your place,' she said.
'There's no reason for anyone to kill you,' I said. 'Unlike Gavin, if that's what happened, it's too late to prevent you from talking.'
'Please,' Adele said. 'If I move back home, at least let Vinnie stay with me for a while longer.'
'That would be up to Vinnie,' I said.
A ll three of us looked at Vinnie. He was drinking some wine. He finished, put the glass down, and shrugged.
'Sure,' he said.
A dele looked at Susan.
'Do you think it will be all right?'
'If he says it will be all right,' Susan said, 'it will be all right.'
A dele nodded slowly, looking at Vinnie.
'Susan,' she said, 'you sound like the rest of them.'
'She is,' I said. 'Wait'll she shows you the secret handshake.'
53
Hawk showed up in my office just before noon with several sandwiches in a bag. He took one out and handed it to me.
'Six grams of fat,' he said. 'I figure, I eat enough of these and I get to do one of those commercials.'
'Hawk,' I said. 'You were born with two percent body fat, and you've trimmed down since.'
'So we lie to them.'
'We?'
'I thought you might want to get in on it,' Hawk said. 'I'll eat a couple and see if my belt feels loose.'
'How 'bout coffee,' Hawk said.
'I made a fresh pot,' I said.
'When?'
'Yesterday.'
'Be fine,' Hawk said.
I poured us two cups and opened one of the sandwiches.
'Long Hair's name is Lance Devaney,' Hawk said.
'Lance Devaney?'
'What it say under his doorbell.'
'I bet he wasn't always Lance Devaney,' I said.
'Probably not,' Hawk said. 'He lives in the South End, on West Newton Street.'
My sandwich was pretty good. I ate some more of it.
'Two-unit town house,' Hawk said.
'That so?' I said.
I had known Hawk too long. He was building to something.
'Doorbell on the other unit say Darrin O'Mara.'
Hawk never showed anything, but something in the way he sat back a little and took a bite of his sandwich spoke of self-satisfaction.
'Darrin O'Mara,' I said.
